Life Isn't All That Bad

Over the next few days, Liz and I didn’t talk much. She'd apologized, and I'd forgiven her, but that was about our only contact. She made no effort to hang out with me, so neither did I.

This, of course, led me to hanging out with the guys every day. You'd think that would make me get more comfortable around them, but it seemed to be the opposite. I was even worse of a stuttering, awkward mess. I couldn’t understand why they'd want to hang out with me, but they did.

It had been five days, and I was really starting to miss my best friend. My plans for today were to hang out with Garrett and Halvo, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I was starting to understand what the fluttery feeling I got in my stomach was whenever Garrett was around.

Liz had described the feeling to me a million times, but I'd never felt it before. I had a crush on Garrett. It might sound silly, but it was my first crush. I grew up in a town where my only friend of the opposite gender was practically a brother to me. I wasn’t used to the butterflies in my stomach, or the ways my knees got weak when he smiled at me. It wasn't something I'd ever experienced before.

But it was too late now; when Garrett showed up at my door, I couldn’t escape our plans to hang out. What exactly were we doing? A movie marathon... at my house.

"So, uh, where's Halvo?" I stuttered out. My stutter was becoming increasingly bad, so much so that I was now stuttering to Danny and my mom, even though I wasn’t nervous.

"He's running late. I'd say we should just start without him, but he'd get all bitchy about it," Garrett shrugged, sitting down on the living room sofa.

I took a shaky breath. I was home alone with a boy. Why did my mom have to start her waitressing job today? Just like the last time, I sat as far away as possible. Despite the fact that we were becoming friends, I still didn’t feel comfortable.

There was an awkward silence, and I could see Garrett fidgeting uncomfortably. "You want to, um, maybe play some Left 4 Dead?"

He grinned and nodded. I set up the game, tossing him a controller. Despite all the time I'd spent with him the past week, this was the first time since the party that we were alone.

The game was a good way to pass time. I didn’t feel as awkward, and it was just fun. Soon, there was a knock at the door, so I paused the game to go answer it. I didn’t need to, though, for Halvo flung the door open on his own. "Put your clothes back on, I'm here."

My cheeks burned furiously, and I pulled my cardigan tighter around my body, burying my face in my hands. "Thank you for the now awkwardness," I mumbled against the fabric of my sleeves.

"Anytime, my darling. Now, let's watch some movies!" With that, he flopped down on the couch, his head resting in my lap, his feet in Garrett's. I just rolled my eyes, turning on the movie.

Finding Nemo. The guys had let me choose the first movie, which I'm sure they regretted when I chose a kids movie.

After rearranging numerous times, practically playing musical chairs on my sofa, we all got comfortable. Rather than being spread out, the three of us sat near the middle, Garrett to my left and Halvo to my right. I tried to stay focused on the movie, but I simply couldn’t.

Halvo was using my shoulder as a pillow, while Garrett's arm was resting on the back of the sofa, just above me. I could feel the heat radiating from his skin.

It was halfway through the movie before someone rang the doorbell. I got up; even though I figured whoever it was would just walk right in. I'd learned that the guys were very into just walking in whenever they felt like it, and I needed to be careful walking around in my underwear.

I opened up the door, surprised at what was on the other side. Liz stood there, her eyes puffy and red with tears.

"Beau, I know I've been a shitty friend, and I'm really sorry, but I really need my best friend right now. Please," Liz rambled, tears streaming down her face. She was the only girl I knew who could be crying, and still manage to look perfect.

I pulled her into my arms, rubbing her back. "Hey, Liz, it's okay," I soothed. When I looked up, I saw both of the boys peaking around the corner, trying to see what was going on.

Liz noticed them too. "S-sorry, I didn’t realize you had people over. I just..."

I pointed my finger at the boys, and then pointed at the door. "You two, get out. Now."

They grumbled a few protests, but headed out. I quickly closed the door behind them, turning back to my crying friend. "What happened?"

"I'm such an idiot!" She cried out. I just led her into the living room, sitting down next to her.

"Liz, what's wrong, hun?"

"It's Kenny...."

"What did that boy do? I'll kill him if he hurt you!" I growled.

Liz just shook her head wildly. "It's not him! It's me! He... he told me he loves me," her voice choked up, the last part coming out as merely a whisper.

One thing I knew about Liz and Kennedy's relationship was that nothing was rushed. They were both completely committed, so never rushed anything. But after a year and a half, I was kind of surprised that they hadn’t said their 'I love you's yet. But at the same time, I wasn’t surprised. Liz was determined that she would never say 'I love you' until she was sure that it was true love.

"So, what did you do?" I asked, grabbing a tissue box for her.

She wiped at her eyes with the tissue, black makeup smears appearing on the white paper. "I just... I didn’t do anything! That's the problem! I just smiled and nodded. Damn it, I'm such an idiot! But I didn’t know what else to do. Now he probably hates me or something..."

At this, she started crying again. I hugged her tightly, trying to calm her down. "Hey, shh. It's okay, Liz. Believe me, Kennedy does not hate you. He's head over heels in love with you, and everyone knows it. He even had the guts to admit that to you. He doesn't hate you."

She shrugged, letting out a sniffle. "I... I guess you're right..."

"Now the question is... Do you love him?"

She hesitated, biting on her lip. "I... I think I do. But I'm not sure... I don’t want to say it if it's not true, you know?"

I just nodded sympathetically. "Don’t worry, Kennedy isn’t going to force you to say it."

Liz nodded, and we both fell silent, besides her occasional sniffle. "So, what were you three doing before I got here?" She grinned, wiggling her eyebrows.

I shoved her playfully. "Watching Finding Nemo, you sick minded girl."

She did an over-exaggerated eye roll. "So, I'm starting to hear rumors about you. What's this I hear about you and John being together?"

I let out a groan. "The jerk had the nerve to kiss me at that party. Believe me, I'm not into him, at all. He seems like a dickhead to me. Liz, these guys all want to be friends with me... I can't handle it!"

She gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Just whatever you do, please be careful. You're my best friend, I don't want so see you get hurt."

Why was everyone so convinced that one of these boys was going to hurt me?